August 2011 Current Events: Business News

Here are the key events in business news for the month of August 2011.

July Job Report Slightly Better than Expected (Aug. 5): The government reports that 117,000 jobs were added in July, more than expected, and welcome news to a shaky market and a stalled economy. Companies added 154,000 jobs and the federal government added 2,000, but local and state governments cut 39,000 jobs. The unemployment rate slips from 9.2 in June to 9.1 in July, but this is attributed to people giving up on finding work.

Stocks Nosedive After U.S. Credit Rating Is Lowered (Aug. 8): Reacting to the credit rating downgrade in the U.S. as well as economic woes on both sides of the Atlantic, the stock market fell sharply in the days after Standard & Poor's lowered the United States' credit rating from AAA to AA+. The Dow Jones fell 634 points, the biggest drop since Dec. 2008, which was when the U.S. was in the midst of the financial crisis. (Aug. 9): International markets are also affected. Japan, Australia, South Korea all experience drops in market shares. (Aug. 12): After a rollercoaster week for Wall Street, the markets end not far from where they started at that beginning of the week, down just 2%. However, the rapid climbing and falling show little confidence in the market and offer little reason to celebrate.

Google Acquires Motorola Mobility (Aug. 15): Google takes another step towards head to head competition with its main rival Apple by acquiring Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion. The purchase allows Google to pursue the cell phone and tablet markets. Google is known for being a search engine and also has Android phone software, but this deal also gives the company access to 17,000 patents owned by Motorola Mobility.

Jobs Resigns as Apple CEO (Aug. 24): Apple announces that Steve Jobs is stepping down as chief executive. Jobs, who has battled cancer for several years, will serve as chairman. Timothy D. Cook will take over as chief executive. Jobs, a co-founder of Apple Inc., is seen as inseparable from the company's success. Of his resignation Jobs says, ""I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple's CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come."

Buffett Boosts Bank of America (Aug. 25):Warren E. Buffett announces that his conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway plans to invest $5 billion in the troubled Bank of America. The investment comes at a time when Bank of America faces an investigation into its foreclosure practices and has billions in legal bills.